Saturday, July 16, 2011

Labatt Breweries of Canada announced today that it has notified the National Hockey League and Molson Coors that it has proceeded to have its case reheard regarding the NHL sponsorship rights by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

"We strongly believe in the merits of the case and look forward to an early decision by the court," said Charlie Angelakos, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Labatt. "Although the Court of Appeal determined there was a procedural error in the initial Superior Court decision, it didn't comment on the merits of the case. We negotiated, in good faith, terms for the renewal of our sponsorship of the NHL for the 2011-2014 season and we'll pursue our legal rights vigorously."

Anheuser-Busch and Labatt sponsor 24 of the 30 NHL teams in North America through the Bud Light and Budweiser brands. On July 12, Labatt also announced Bud's sponsorship agreements with the Canucks, Flames and Jets that give the brand the right to use team trade marks and logos for promotional purposes and to supply products to the teams' home venues - Rogers Arena in Vancouver and the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, and the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.